I thought our grapevine was Interlaken but the tag is gone. The internet seems to think Interlaken grapes are golden, not red. Well, I don’t know. Our vine struggled for years, very low production, but early this spring we finally cut down a couple of very nearby apple trees that were not producing what we liked and were shading the vine. What a difference! This year for the first time we have some grapes to eat. Yummy!

Red table grapes ripening in early October in Seattle zone 8b

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Soon the Kousa dogwood leaves will begin to turn. See part of the little red fruit on the left? They are edible, if nothing to write home about. But cute!

Kousa dogwood in autumn

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When the petals of your hydrangea flowers get a little like crepe paper, they dry very well. Put in a vase with a half inch of water. By the time the water evaporates, the flowers will be dried enough to last and last.

Colors of mauve, purple and soft blue appear as the blue flowers mature and get ready to dry.

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I finally got to see a Corpse Flower in bloom! It was kind of under the radar at Seattle’s Volunteer Park Conservatory. They hadn’t publicized it for fear of crowds in this covid era. They bloom very rarely. This plant is twenty years old and this is its first bloom, so it is kind of a baby, which is why the whole thing is only about three feet tall. Mature flowers can be eight feet! The bloom was at its maximum this morning, and I saw it at around 2pm. I was surprised that the odor was completely done! So it was not stinky at all, a bit of a disappointment, but it was more beautiful than I expected. The outer part was an incredible swirl of loveliness. Here is a little documentary about them with David Attenborough.

Amorphophallus titanum, the titan arum

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I hate cutting my roses since I can see the rose bed from the house and they look so lovely out there, blooming for me and any passers-by. But I had to pick them ahead of the big rain.

Garden roses in bouquets, with late lavender and smoke bush leaves

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Yesterday I picked all the open roses ahead of the big rain expected tonight. When I cut roses I always bring a clean bucket with a couple of inches of water into the rosebed. As soon as I cut a stem I put it in the water so it doesn’t dry and seal up. Then right before arranging I cut the stems again while each stem is in a bowl of water in the sink, at a deep slant. It really helps them last longer in the bouquet. I love my roses.

Full blown garden roses, ready for a bouquet

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We got maybe a tenth of an inch of rain, more than the entire summer here in Seattle! But a big rain is coming in a couple of days, thank goodness, maybe two inches over a few days. The garden is so thirsty. If you grow roses, pick them and enjoy a bouquet if a big rain is coming. No sense in letting them get ruined and go to waste.

Water droplets on the petals of a half-open Peace rose in my garden

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Rose gardeners PSA: If it’s going to rain big, go out there and cut your opened roses for bouquets. They’ll just get ruined if you leave them out there.

Rain is coming. Might as well cut roses and bring inside.

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What a backyard sky!

Swirly pink clouds lit up the sky at sunset last night

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I did a good job planting my Early Girls (and Sungolds) and they were watered well. So sweet!

Red, ripe, shiny tomatoes and stringbeans harvest

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The ‘Julia Child’ rose bush (own root!) is the star of my rose garden. Only a few years old, she is in her second full bloom this season right now. As the petals fade to cream, sometimes edged in pink, they do fall off quite easily, but are so very beautiful that I try to leave them as long as I can so as not to make a mess below.

The butter-yellow flowers fade to cream as the blossoms open fully

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My backyard a couple of weeks ago in late July. Don’t the pointy iris leaves look good?

Cosmos and speedwell (veronica), with blue hydrangeas in the background

Also at Through My Lens Monday, Our World Tuesday, Ruby Tuesday 2, Tuesday’s Wordless Wednesday, Tuesday Treasures, Wordless Wednesday, My Corner of the World Wednesday 1, Thankful Thursday, Little Things Thursday, Friday Bliss, Pink Saturday, and Garden Affair Saturday. Thanks so much for visiting here and hope to see you again soon. Please sign up at upper right for notifications of new posts.